


A New Friend...?

by Drearn



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: F/M, Fanservice, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Nudity, Public Nudity, not really romance, some ecchi moments but mostly friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 12:42:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18073613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drearn/pseuds/Drearn
Summary: Chihiro Fujisaki has no friends. Chiaki Nanami is a weird, but kind and loving girl. Could that be the friend Chihiro always wished for...? Or would that incredibly embarrassing incident ruin everything...?





	A New Friend...?

It had been just a few weeks since the opening ceremony at Hope’s Peak Academy. A solemn moment, when the new students were introduced to the entire school, along with their Super High School Level talents. No ordinary school would bother introducing each individual student in a large auditorium, but Hope’s Peak was everything but an ordinary school. Each of those students was destined to change the world - to create a world of hope.

Not that any of that mattered to Chihiro. At that moment, in front of so many people, only two things were in that youngster’s mind - extreme shyness, almost as legendary as the talent that made that possible, and _hope_. Hope for a new beginning - a _better_ beginning.

Chihiro Fujisaki had no friends.

As far as memories went, all that life had been a constant cycle of bullying and isolation. But now, none of those people of the past were there. Literally no one could ruin that happiness! It was the perfect chance for a brand new beginning... and new friends!

... it didn’t took long until the fatal flaw in those hopes was found.

The 78th Class wasn’t bad. Of course, there was the scary biker, the condescending rich boy and the writer girl who always complained about everything and everyone, but in general, it seemed like a decent class, with decent people. Some of them even tried to befriend Chihiro, like the swimmer girl and the supermodel with the flashy outfit, and they did seem incredibly nice... but even so, the young programmer couldn’t feel a true connection.

And the reason was clear.

As much as having friends was a long time dream... it wasn’t possible to do that by pretending to be someone else.

Chihiro let out a sigh. There were so many nice people in that class... it was tempting, to just get rid of that farce. Just... be the _real_  Chihiro... it would be hoping too much that they would just accept...?

Of course it would.

Asking a question, and then answering it, Chihiro’s head lowered while walking aimlessly around the school yard. It wasn’t the first time that monologue happened, and the answer was always the same. Plus... it was too late. Even if they _could_  accept before... after so long pretending to be something else, it was obviously impossible that it wouldn’t have negative consequences.

It was time to face. By trying to avoid problems... Chihiro had fooled everyone around.

And no one likes to be fooled.

That loneliness wasn’t just the obvious result of those actions, the guilt demon said. It was also a punishment for lying to everyone.

 

That monologue was interrupted when, while walking and looking down, the kid bumped head first into something soft and warm. Looking upside to see what it was... Chihiro leaped back by reflex, with a completely red face.

“I-I’m sorry! I-I wasn’t looking... s-sorry...”

It was a girl. A girl around one head taller, not that it was rare. And because of that height difference, they both collided, face against chest... and that was why that face was blushing so hard while apologizing.

The taller girl, however, didn’t even seem to notice. Her eyes were fixed on a portable videogame, whose buttons were pressed in an unbelievable speed by her fingers. Only when she heard Chihiro’s voice, which took a few seconds, she looked down.

“... is everything okay?”

“Huh?” Chihiro looked at her face for the first time. “I-I should be asking... I mean, I bumped into you...”

“Really...?” She tilted her head, with no change in her expression. “It was probably my fault... I apologize.”

“N-No! I-I wasn’t looking where I was going... i-it was my fault...”

“I wasn’t looking either...”

“...”

That conversation would probably become an infinite cycle of apologies, if the pink-haired girl didn’t suddenly change both her expression and the subject.

“Wait... I know you!”

“Huh?” That was an unexpected development. “R-Really...?”

“Yes, you are one of the new students, right? The Super High School Level Programmer?”

“Oh... yes... yes, that’s me...” That was the title Hope’s Peak Academy granted when Chihiro accepted to become a student. Responding to that title still felt weird.

The girl’s eyes gleamed.

“Are you really the best programmer in the world? Can you really program anything?! Like games?!”

“Huh?!” That deluge of questions was intimidating. “W-Well, I’m not sure if I’m such a big deal... I-I mean, I don’t think I’m better than my dad, and... well, I haven’t worked so much with games specifically, but I don’t think it’s hard...?”

“This is amazing!!” Her smile was radiating, she looked like a child in Santa’s lap. “I remember when I saw you at the ceremony, when they announced your talent I was so impressed, it is thanks to programmers that videogames exist, right? Oh! My god, I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Chiaki Nanami, nice to meet you!”

Chihiro could barely follow what she said, that girl seemed so quiet, and then out of blue she was a talking machine! Not that it was bad, at least she wasn’t upset... and at least her name was now known.

“Chihiro Fujisaki... I-I hope we can get along, Nanami-senpai!”

“How do you work? You said you haven’t worked so much with games, does it mean you have worked a bit? What kind of games did you make? Do you like games? What kind of games do you like?”

“Uh... I...” Chihiro wasn’t used to get so many questions about the work of a programmer, even less to answer... where to even start from? Chiaki seemed to have realized that as well, and soon came with an invite.

“I was going to the dorm, want to come with me? Then you can tell me on the way!”

Her smile was so pure and genuine... it was hard to say no. Not that Chihiro _wanted_  to say no, it was nice to see someone so enthusiastic about that talent... despite everything. They walked and, since both had the rest of the day free, they didn’t have to worry about time, and so the conversation just flowed.

While walking, Chihiro learned many things about that new friend. Chiaki was a sophomore, admitted into Hope’s Peak under the title of Super High School Level Gamer. That explained her obsession with games... which ended up becoming the new subject, even though Chihiro tried to explain that wasn’t the focus of that talent... although, indeed, it wasn’t impossible to work with game programming.

Despite everything, however, Chiaki turned out to be a great listener as well. When Chihiro started talking, she listened with attention, and when nervousness got in the way of talking, she just smiled and asked questions. That was the most involving conversation the shorter kid had since the first day... so involving that the route they took wasn’t even noticed, as they had finally reached the girls dorm and walked towards the bathroom.

Chihiro only noticed something was wrong when, without the slightest change her demeanor or even stop talking, Chiaki just started unbuttoning her shirt right there.

“N-NANAMI-SENPAI?!”

“Hm?” She was now just in her bra and panties, as she caught her clothes on the floor to put them in the locker. Chihiro, with a face as red as a tomato, looked around and realized they were in the girls’ changing room.

“I-I’d better go...”

“Uh?” Chiaki took off her bra, looking confused and a bit disappointed. “But we have the entire day free... are you sure you don’t wanna take a bath with me?”

The words “bath with me”, in that order, coming from a girl who took her panties off and was now completely naked in plain sight, made Chihiro’s face and heart explode in flames and beat like a bass drum, while shutting eyes as hard as possible.

“B-B-But... w-wouldn’t you rather do it... b-b-by yourself...?”

“I would be lonely if I used such a huge bath all by myself... even more when there’s so much more I’d like to talk...” She gave a small smile, as she put her hand on Chihiro’s shoulder. “Unless you don’t want... which, well... I understand.”

The hint of sadness in her voice made Chihiro’s stomach feel heavy.

“I-It’s not like that!” Trying to look her in the eye, the attempt was immediately dropped by the realization that she was still naked. “I-I’m just not really craving for a bath right now...”

“Then at least make me company!” Chiaki held Chihiro’s wrist and pulled lightly, like calling the kid to go with her. “You don’t need to get in the water if you don’t want to!”

“...”

Chihiro had always been terrible at saying no. Noticing less resistence than before, Chiaki smiled and walked to the bath, while pulling her companion by the arm.

 

The inside of that bathroom was enormous, which made sense. It was the common bath for all the girls in the dorm, after all. And Chihiro thanked god for it being completely desert before he entered there with Chiaki. Even so... it was hard to ignore that girl washing and rinsing herself right there.

“Oh yes, as I was saying...” She kept talking, like nothing was wrong. Chihiro tried to concentrate in the talk, but it was hard. Giving more monosyllabic answers than acceptable, the kid wasn’t just dying of embarrassment... there was also the terrible weight of guilt. Because, Chiaki didn’t know... but she would never act like that if she knew the truth.

“Fujisaki-san...” The sound of that name being pronounced made its owner instinctively look at her, who was now sitting closer “I know you don’t want to get wet, but can you help me wash my back...?”

That was it. Chihiro couldn’t keep with that farce anymore. Chiaki would scream, freak out, probably even slap... and mostly, would never be a friend again. But it wasn’t fair... it wasn’t _right_  to keep fooling her like that.

“... I... I-I’m sorry, Senpai!” Chihiro got on knees and bowed, putting the forehead on the floor. Chiaki got a bit scared... she wasn’t expecting to make her friend that uncomfortable with just that request.

“... Fujisaki... san? I’m sorry if-”

“I lied to you!”

“...?”

Now she was confused and worried. Chihiro was... clearly not joking. Crouching down, begging like an iredeemable sinner. And she had no idea what-

“I... I am actually a boy!”

“...”

Several seconds of silence passed, in which Chiaki just looked at her friend on the floor.

“... excuse me?”

“That’s right!” She couldn’t see her... his face, but his tone made clear he was crying. “I know I shouldn’t, I know I lied to you, and I’m sorry! I know you won’t forgive me, and you’ll hit me, and you’re right! I shouldn’t have come in here, I shouldn’t be here with you and I shouldn’t-”

“YAHOO!” A loud female voice interrupted him, startling them. “Dude, today’s rehearsal... I’m still feeling my soul ROCKING!!! SUP, CHIAKI-CHAN!!!”

When they looked towards the voice, three naked girls were in the bath area. One of them, running in front of the other two, simply dashed to the water and jumped with a yell.

“Ah...! Mioda-san!” Chiaki knew those girls. The one who had just jumped was her classmate, Ibuki Mioda. The other two, much less hyper, were Mahiru Koizumi and Hiyoko Saionji.

Chiaki barely had any time to react before they finally noticed Chihiro.

“Hey, little one!” Ibuki shouted to him, who was still red as a tomato. “Why are you here all dressed up? Bath time is the sacred hour when beautiful girls can show off their gorgeous bodies with total freedom!

“I-I... uh...”

“Fujisaki-san didn’t bring a change of clothes” Chiaki quickly intervened. “She lives at home. And I’m finished, let’s go, Fujisaki-san!”

She had almost no time to fully process the situation, but if Chihiro was really a boy... not only it would be trouble if he saw the girls bathing, if Mahiru found out, it would make it double! With no time to waste, she pulled her friend by the hand to get out of that bath as quickly as possible... and the changing room wasn’t better, as more girls were entering and undressing. Without stopping for a second, the duo walked quickly until they were finally out of sight.

“... That was close...” Chiaki let out a sigh. They were in the hallway in front of the bathroom, and there seemed to be more girls coming. That must be the usual bathing hour.

“Come on!” Still holding his hand, she pulled him and walked toward her room.

Chihiro followed her, blushing hard... even if just for a moment, he saw more naked girls than he never expected to see in his life. But the worst of all was, in her hurry to leave the bathroom soon, _Chiaki didn’t even get dressed!_

“N-Nanami-senpai... you...”

“Shh.” She put her finger on her lips. “Act naturally, no one noticed.”

Yes they did! Chiaki was walking around the dorm hallways, completely in the nude, and no one even tried to disguise their awkward glances toward her! Embarrassed and nervous, Chihiro looked at her face... unperturbed. Like walking naked around the dorm was perfectly normal!

_This... can’t be normal..._

They walked for what felt like an entire life. The dormhouses in Hope’s Peak were surprisingly huge and sinuous, even though the amount of students wasn’t nearly enough for that. Chihiro felt his face burning, both for Chiaki’s state and for the disaproving glances that followed them along the way. Until they finally reached a door, that Chiaki opened for them.

 

For what Chihiro knew about Chiaki, her room was impressive, but not exactly surprising.

Just like his own room, hers was stuffed with electronic devices. Except hers were countless different videogame consoles in several TVs, not to mention the portable systems spread around and a computer, that he knew with a glance that was optimized to run all kinds of games. There were also three large cushions on the floor.

Right when Chiaki locked the door, one of the consoles beeped. It seemed like she had left it downloading a game, and apparently, it had finished.

“Oh!” Smiling with the timing, she went right to the cushion in front of the TV and started playing.

“S-Senpai... your... clothes...”

But the game noises muffled his voice. Not that the game was that loud, but for the look in her eyes, it was clear she wasn’t paying attention to him anymore.

Feeling too embarrassed to insist on the subject, Chihiro simply sat in one of the cushions, not really sure what to do.

He still wasn’t totally sure what was going on in her mind. She didn’t yell at him, didn’t show any aggressiveness... but she didn’t show anything else either. She was aware enough of the situation to get him away from the undressing girls as soon as possible... but not enough to get him away from _her_. He figured that, in order to get him out of there quickly, there was no time for her to get dressed before leaving the changing room... but that didn’t explain how could she simply walk naked in the dorm, like nothing was wrong.

Could it be that they were in the girls dormhouse...? There were only girls there, maybe it was normal for them to walk nude in the hallways? But Chiaki got several weird glances... even so, no one did a thing... maybe that was unusual, but not unheard of...? Maybe Chiaki in particular had a habit of walking naked around the dorm...? Or maybe it was unheard of, and that’s exactly why people didn’t know how to act...? Chihiro was certainly in this last group.

And there was also the issue that Chihiro was a _boy_. And Chiaki _knew_  that. And even so, she didn’t seem to have the slightest probem with that... or was her mind simply somewhere else? At the bath, the girls entered before she could say anything... in the hallways, she seemed to want to get in the room soon, probably to hide him... and in the room, she arrived right on time for the download to finish... and he had already seen how she forgot everything when she was playing.

So, he still had no idea what she was thinking, or what she intended by bringing him there. Would she give him a big scolding or was she really okay about being naked around him? He didn’t know, but the second one seemed unlikely. And the first one... was unavoidable, he knew. But even so... he felt bad. Chiaki had been very kind and gentle with him.

Trying not to look at her naked body, he looked at the screen. The game had impressive graphics, but... even more impressive was the player’s skill. She was clearly not called Super High School Level Gamer for nothing.

“Fujisaki-kun, wanna play as well?”

“Huh?! M-Me?!”

Chiaki paused the game, and offered him a joystick. “Games are always more fun in multiplayer mode. I think you will like.”

She smiled at him. He looked away, blushing.

“D-Do you... really not mind...?”

“Of course not. It’s always more fun to play with friends!”

“N-Not that!” The crimson of his face got redder, as he brought the subject again. “I... wasn’t joking earlier... d-do you really not mind... that a boy... sees you like... that...?”

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot!” Chiaki got up suddenly, as she finally remembered. “That was why I brought you here in first place.”

... Chihiro lowered his head, accepting his destiny. He could already see what would happen.

First, she would quickly get dressed. Second, she would scold him hard for being a pervert and for taking advantage of her like that. Depending on how mad she was, maybe she would complement that with a slap or worse.

What happened, however, was nothing like that. She simply put her hand on his chin and pulled his face upwards so she could look him in the eyes.

“Why do you dress like a girl?”

“...”

The question itself wasn’t exactly unexpected. Her _expression_  was unexpected - a completely neutral expression, that didn’t show any kind of anger or embarrassment. Chihiro didn’t answer immediately; it was a difficult question to answer. Even more when the person asking didn’t show any sign of will to get dressed before getting an answer.

“... it’s a long story.” He said at last, looking away, still blushing... but now with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

“We have the day free, remember?” Her voice was as calm and serene as always. She really... didn’t seem concerned about herself. She seemed concerned about him.

“...”

Without much else to say, Chihiro told her everything.

About his past. About his fragility. About how everyone around him saw that fragility. At each phrase... those painful memories came. And he felt the tears going up his eyes... but did his best to hold them, as he proceeded with the narrative. Chiaki paid full attention... and she also noticed he was almost crying.

“And that is why...” He concluded, trying not to look at her, or anywhere in particular. “I know... it doesn’t excuse... me lying to you like that... that’s why I’m really... really so-”

His apology was interrupted by a hug.

Chiaki couldn’t hold it anymore. She felt his suffering through his voice. She saw those wet eyes, barely holding the tears. And all that time... he endured that alone... with no one, not a single friend, to support him... she couldn’t stand seeing him like that. He needed a hug, and that’s what she did. Pulled him into a tight hug, burying his face into her chest and caressing his hair and back.

Chihiro’s first reaction was, evidently, shock. There was Chiaki Nanami, an upperclassman he just met hours ago, completely naked while hugging him. The sight and feeling of her big, soft breasts against his face almost made him pass out, with so much blood going up his head at once... until he felt her hand on his hair, gently caressing it.

That gesture... it was like the situation gained a whole new meaning. He was still embarrassed, but... headpatting and caressing always made him relax. It felt so loving, so... _maternal_.

“You can cry, Fujisaki-kun.” She said, caressing his back along with his head. “That is not weakness. There is no need to hold back. Cry.”

Those words... the effect was immediate. His eyes leaked completely, as he started sobbing into her chest, hugging her. She returned the hug, as she kept caressing him and calming him down with her gentle voice.

 

Chihiro didn’t know when exactly he had passed out.

When he woke up, the first thing he heard was some electronic sounds from some game. Slowly opening his eyes... the first thing he saw was a pair of breasts, seen from below.

That woke him up enough for him to realize he was laying on Chiaki’s lap. She, by the way, was sitting on the bed, playing a portable videogame while he slept on her lap. Getting up quickly, this time he caught her attention, and she immediately closed the portable, pausing the game.

“How do you feel, Fujisaki-kun?”

“Better... I guess...” He tried not to look directly at her. “And you still haven’t get dressed...”

“You slept on my lap, I didn’t want to wake you up.” She answered with a gentle smile, before putting a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, Fujisaki-kun. You had a lot inside your head, you deserved this rest.”

“...” _and won’t you get dressed?_  He thought, during the seconds of silence in which she just smiled at him with her hand on his shoulder.

“How many people know?” She broke the silence, asking that just normally.

“W-Well... the headmaster, I guess... the school staff as a whole probably knows... i-including the dorm head...” He tried to count in his head, remembering the struggle that was to go unnoticed through the boys’ dorm to his room. “A-As for students, I think... you’re the first one...”

“So I’m the first one to know Fujisaki-kun’s big secret?” She grinned. “Hehe, this makes me happy... don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

Hearing that, Chihiro felt like he was about to cry again, this time of happiness. That girl knew he was a boy... even though he looked like that... and even so, she accepted him... and was willing to keep his secret... could that be his first real friend...?

“But... you know, Fujisaki-kun?” This time her smile gave place to a worried expression. “I don’t think this _should_  be a secret. You are a wonderful person, and I’m sure I’m not alone on this. Didn’t you tell about the friendly people in your class?”

“... but...” He was afraid. Maybe they were only friendly because they thought he was a girl...? How would he know if they were all like her...?

“Of course, all in its due time. If you don’t feel ready, it’s better to get ready first. But think about it... I’m sure many people would like you exactly as you are.”

“It’s easy to say... p-plus, no one will like to know... that I fooled them all this time...”

“If you explain your reasons, I’m sure they will understand.” She gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze. “After all, I understood, right?”

“... right...”

Chihiro allowed himself to smile. That made Chiaki smile as well... and then a loud growl came out of his belly, making him blush.

“Oh! I think it’s dinner time already...” Chiaki looked at the clock on the wall, and immediately got up like in a jolt. “This is not good! Only 10 minutes until the cafeteria closes!”

“HUH?!” Chihiro got up as well, looking at the clock. “My god, for how long did I sleep?!” He rushed to the door, but

“Watch out!” Chiaki held him, right on time.

With a finger on her lips, she signed for him to remain there and got closer to the door. “At this time, the dorm head must be around the hallways. If she sees you, she will know you’re a boy!”

“...!!!” Chihiro didn’t think about that. He wasn’t totally sure if the staff of the girls’ dorm was aware, but...

“Stay here, I’ll bring you something.” With that, Chiaki opened the door and left.

“WAIT” He didn’t have time to finish the sentence before she closed the door behind her, leaving in a hurry.

_... she STILL hasn’t put any clothes on!_

Chihiro was panicking. Not only the cafeteria was outside the dorms, it was for all genders. It was weird enough for a girl to walk around naked, even in the girls’ dorm, but if she really went there... she would certainly get in trouble! Maybe even be expelled!

Maybe she would realize it on time... yes, yes. At any second now, she would come back running to the room, and she would quickly get dressed and run out again. Yes, of course! She wouldn’t leave the dorm without any clothes on!

He decided to wait.

 

Several minutes passed, and no sign of her.

“... she can’t really be...”

... what if she was caught?!

Oh lord, it was all his fault! She did that for him... he had to search for her! But when he was about to open the door, he heard steps from the other side.

“!!!”

Could it be the dorm head...? If she found him there... they would both get in trouble... but... it wouldn’t be fair to leave only Chiaki get in trouble... would it...?

He was almost opening the door, but... no. He didn’t have courage. And he hated himself for that.

Chiaki was risking herself for him... and he couldn’t even repay her sacrifice. He really didn’t deserve friends, he thought, falling with his back on the bed in frustration.

He decided to establish a countdown. Five minutes. If she wasn’t back in five minutes... he would go after her.

Tick. Tock.

Four minutes... and nothing.

That’s it, he thought. Enough. He couldn’t hear the dorm head’s steps outside. He should go. Getting up, he approached the door and... one more time, steps.

This time it was really close, he thought as he backed off. Those steps were much lighter... could it be... the dorm head was approaching sneakily...?

The doorknob turned, and Chihiro immediately looked for some place to hide. Too late. The door opened... and there was Chiaki, with two sandwiches bags in a hand and a can under her arm.

“Senpai! Thanks god, nothing happened...” He sighed, with a hand on his chest. “... W-Wait, did you go to the cafeteria like that?!”

“Hm?” Chiaki closed the door and looked at him, confused. “Of course not. I went to the snack bar in the dorm.”

“... oh.” Chihiro forgot that, aside from the main cafeteria, each dorm had its own snack bar. Most of what they served was junk food, so it was rare for the students to get dinner there. But...

“... and the snack bar simply served you a snack like it was nothing?!”

“Well, the lady asked where were my clothes, I said I had missed the time and there was no time for me to get dressed.” She answered, just as naturally as she was talking about the weather. “Which is not exactly a lie... I think.”

“... and she simply accepted that?!”

“Huh...” Chiaki looked genuinely cofused, as she put the sandwiches and the can on the little bedside table. “I mean, she kept staring at me in an awkward way, but... it’s not like there was a boy or anything like that, so what’s the problem?”

“That’s not the point... actually, now that you mention, there IS a boy right here! Right in front of you!” Once again, he was blushing for talking about that.

“I trust you, Fujisaki-kun.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “No need to worry about that.”

“But...!”

“Plus, you’ve already seen everything there is to see, so it’s not like it makes a difference at this point, right?” She shrugged and took a sandwich. “I didn’t know which flavor you’d like, so I got two of the same, ok?”

“...”

Well, one question down. Somehow, however, the fact she was naked in front of him _by her own conscious choice_... made his heart beat even faster. Trying to ignore that, he finally gave in and took a bite of the sandwich she offered.

It was good. Chiaki divided the juice in two disposable cups, and they sat down on the floor, eating on a very small table. It wasn’t exactly a dinner, but at least it was food.

“Hey, Fujisaki-kun...” She said, munching, and continued after swallowing. “What if we made a game together?”

“Huh?” Chihiro looked at her, like encouraging her to proceed.

“Well, I don’t know if I’d be useful, since I only know how to _play_  games, but... I think I know what a game should have, and you know how to program, right...?”

“... I don’t know, senpai...” Chihiro put a hand on his chin. “You certainly knows much more about games than I do, but... it takes much more than programming to create a game. You’d need character design, stage, soundtrack... among so much more.”

“Oh! One of my classmates works with music!” Chiaki was clearly excited with the idea. “Maybe she could help us with the soundtrack! I have a photographer friend that maybe could help us with sceneries? I mean, she knows about landscapes, I suppose? And, well, another of my classmates is an animator, maybe he could also help with character and scenery design?”

“... even so...”

“It doesn’t need to be a super production!” He held his hands, her eyes still gleaming with enthusiasm. “Some of my favorite games are indie... we don’t need to spend millions on it, it just needs to be fun!”

“...”

It just needs to be fun, huh?

Chihiro looked at her face. She looked strangely determined... with his programming skills, he could probably make something simple. And, apparently, she was okay with something simple.

Not to mention... it would be the first time he would work in a project with a friend.

“... alright, senpai.” He finally smiled. “I’m in!”

She gave him the most radiant smile he had seen from her in that day. That smile... his own smile got wider, it was that contagious. Definitely the first in his list of smiles that must be protected.

They spent a long time talking about Chiaki’s ideas, which were many, but would certainly require a lot of planning. Chihiro also gave some takes on what could or could not be made, and what would be needed. At some point, however, the lights outside were visibly darkening... the curfew was coming.

“... I... have to go...”

“If you want to sleep here...”

“I can’t, the dorm head will check the rooms soon, if I’m not there by then I’ll get trouble...”

“Oh!”

Chiaki got up and went to the door, trying to listen the outside. Not hearing anything suspect, she opened the door and looked around.

“Ok, coast is clear... can you find the exit?”

“Uh? I... think so...?”

“I’d better go along, then.” It wouldn’t be cool if he got lost.

 

When they left, the hallway was surprisingly dark and silent. Chiaki held Chihiro’s hand and lead the way.

They walked slowly and calmly. It wasn’t good to make much noise.

“... Nanami-senpai...”

“Hm?”

“The girls... do they always go to sleep this early?”

“I think so... I’ve never really paid attention to what time other people sleep, actually. I, myself, always sleep around this time.

“Hm...” In the boys’ dorm, the dorm head always seemed to give some slack to the boys that stayed in the games room, until they finished their matches or anything like that. The curfew was never exactly in the scheduled hour. It seemed different in the girls’ dorm.

And while he thought about those differences in the girls’ dorm, Chihiro’s face once again felt warm when he looked at Chiaki and saw she was still naked. Hours and hours of talking got him used to that sight, but thinking about it was still embarrassing.

“... Nanami-senpai...”

“Hm?”

“... s-sorry for asking, but... d-do you always walk around like... that...?”

“Like that...?” She looked down and saw what he meant. “Well, not really... it’s just that I needed to get you out of the bathroom soon, so I had no time to get dressed.”

“... and then...?”

“Then...?” She put a finger on her chin, trying to remember. “We got in my room right when my game downloaded, and I wanted to play.”

“... and then...?”

“Hm... then you slept on my lap, and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

The blush in his face got redder, as he remembered that scene. That feeling... so warm and... soft...

“... and... and then...” _Focus, Chihiro, focus!_

“Then I ran to the snack bar to get a snack for us...

“... and then...?”

She thought about it for some seconds. After she was back to the room... there was a lot of time, indeed.

“... I think I forgot.”

“...”

Chihiro couldn’t believe. He never thought he would meet someone so absent-minded to the point of forgetting to put some clothes on... and carefree enough to simply accept that and walk around the school dorm completely naked.

Eventually, they got to the entrance. When opening the door, the cold air of the night made Chiaki hug her own body. Chihiro turned to her and bowed.

“Thank you for everything, Nanami-senpai!”

“I’m the one who should thank you, Fujisaki-kun!” She bowed back, with a smile. “See you tomorrow?”

Chihiro took a while to answer. He was already longing for their next meeting, and wondering how long it would take until he could see her again... he wasn’t expecting she would schedule it herself! He couldn’t hold his smile.

“Of course, senpai!”

Chiaki’s smile was, once more, beautiful enough to warm his heart as he said his goodbyes and walked away.

“Thank you for everything...”

He kept repeating to himself, while going back to the boys’ dorm. Thank you for everything... that sentence had more weight than Chiaki probably imagined. He wasn’t thanking only her actions. It was really _everything_. Everything she did... and everything she _was_.

And what was she?

Something Chihiro always wanted to say about someone, and now, for the first time, he could say for sure.

_A friend._


End file.
